The Plan
by havinghopeagainsthope
Summary: Juvia and Natsu join forces to get the attention of the loves of their lives and to get them to admit their feelings. Will the plan work or will it blow up on their faces? Set after GMG and after Future rogue is defeated.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Juvia's head thumps on the wooden bar counter. Gray turned her down once again. This is getting tiresome. She knows for sure that Gray has feelings for her but him not admitting to them is starting to make Juvia angry now. I mean for God's sake, he pushed her out of harms way and got himself killed. She saw him die in front of her eyes. She saw his lifeless body in front of her. She doesn't know what happened but she is sure it was something to do with Ultear's magic and disappearance that Gray came back to life.

"Mira-san…" She groans to get the white haired barmaid's attention. "What do I need to do to get Gray-sama's attention? To finally get Gray-sama to admit his feelings?" Juvia sits up to hear what the take over mage has to say.

Mirajane taps her chin with her index finger and thinks for a moment, "Jealousy helps."

"Uhhhh?"

"Well, see Gray does get pretty protective of you when Lyon is around."

"Mira-san, Juvia doesn't want Lyon-sama to get involved in this. Juvia doesn't want to take advantage of someone's feelings."

"Well, I think a little jealousy goes a long way. The only reason Gray is being cold is because he knows you are not going anywhere. If he sensed that you could walk away, he'd come running to you."

"What are you both talking about, Mira-nee?" Lisanna asks Mirajane.

"Just telling Juvia that a little jealousy would go a long way in getting Gray's attention." Mirajane replies.

"Mira-san…" Juvia whines.

Lisanna pats Juvia on her arm, "Hang in there, Juvia. He'll come around." Juvia nods. "Well, time for me to go back to serving drinks." She picks up some drinks and goes around the guildhall to serve them.

"Just think about it," Mirajane's voice draws her focus back.

"Hmmm… Does it even work?"

Mirajane smiles a little and looks towards someone at one corner of the guild. Juvia follows her line of sight. She is looking at Laxus who is, as usual, being fawned over by the Raiijinshu Tribe. The Lightning Dragon Slayer on the other hand has a sour look on his face, obviously not like Mirajane letting Juvia in on the fact that he got jealous of Mirajane going out with someone else.

It's not like the guild didn't know that Mirajane and Laxus are going out, it's just that no one got the details of how it happened. It was beyond everyone's comprehension. And no one wanted to be struck by lightning for asking questions.

Juvia turns back to Mirajane in shock, "Is Mira-san being serious?"

Mirajane nods her head with a cute smile playing on her lips. "You see, boys like to think they are complicated beings and have the weight of the world on them." There's fire burning in her eyes as she says this, "But it is not true. Everybody needs someone on their side. Everybody needs someone to share themselves with."

"Mira-san is right."

"I think Gray is only afraid of sharing himself with you. I've known Gray since we were children and think, no, I'm sure he really cares for you."

Juvia turns from her seat and looks at Gray, who is with Cana and Elfman, chatting away happily. She sighes, "Gray-sama doesn't look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders. Gray-sama looks happy. Gray-sama is always happy when he is with his friends. Why can't Gray-sama look this happy when he is with Juvia?" Juvia puts forth her thoughts.

"Hmmm… maybe because you overwhelm him. He's not someone who wears his heart on the sleeve and you do." She replies.

Juvia sighs, "This is going nowhere. Mira-san, Juvia is going back home. Juvia will see you tomorrow."

Mirajane smiles at her. "Okay, good night."

Juvia smiles at her and slowly walks out of the guild. What Juvia doesn't notice is a pair of dark eyes watching her leave in their peripheral vision. _'Strange, she didn't say goodbye like she usually does.'_

The cool evening breeze hits her. The sun is almost set. Juvia slowly walks towards Fairy Hills wondering if she should bake another batch of Gray-buns.

"Juvia!" She hears someone call out her name from far off. She turns around and finds Natsu running to catch with her.

She waits for him to reach her. As Natsu stops in front of her, she remembers that he could hear her from far off so she didn't have to wait for him to be within earshot, "What is it, Natsu-san?"

Natsu suddenly looks likes he is debating his decision to follow her. "Ummm…"

"Natsu-san, did something at the guild?" She asks worried.

"No no. I want to talk to you about something." He scratches the head in nervousness.

This is an unusual sight for Juvia. She has never seen Natsu like this before. "Juvia is listening."

"Why do you like Gray so much?" He asks with uncertainty.

Juvia eyes him doubtfully. It's not like Juvia and Natsu have heart-to-hearts everyday. Although, Juvia vaguely suspects that this is not what Natsu wants to chat about. "Gray-sama took away Juvia's rain. Gray-sama saved me."

"Yes, yes, that I know. I want to help you." He looks here and there while saying this.

Juvia's eyes widen, "What?" She narrows her eyes at him, "Help, how? With what?"

"I'll help you make Gray jealous." Natsu looks happy at the prospect of making Gray angry.

Juvia's face goes red. "Jealous? Did Natsu-san overhear Juvia and Mira-san's conversation?" She yells.

"I was bored," he whines. "Happy and Lucy were arguing like they always do. I was just listening around and I chose to concentrate on your conversation." He says proudly.

"If Natsu-san is bored, he should a take a job or something, don't listen in on others' conversation!" She shouts, thinking about the various other conversations Natsu may have overheard.

He shrugs at her.

"So why does Natsu-san want to help?" She asks with doubt.

"Like I said I just want to mess with Gray. I can, maybe, knock that annoying smirk of the Ice Princess' face."

"Juvia will not let anyone attack Gray-sama." She says in a chilly voice.

Natsu shivers at the vibes she gives out, "Fine, I won't hurt Gray." He crosses his fingers behind his back as he says that.

"Why does Natsu-san what to help Juvia?" She asks again.

He mumbles something incomprehensible.

' _Mira-san said a little jealousy goes a long way. What if Natsu-san wants to make someone jealous? And the way, he is talking to Juvia out of the blue, it must mean something.' Juvia thinks._

"Does Natsu-san want to make someone jealous?"

"I don't know what you are talking about." He says nonchalantly.

Juvia taps her chins with her index finger. Her mouth forms an 'O', "Lucy-san…"

Natsu's jaw drops. "How did you know?" He asks before he could stop himself.

"Woman's intuition." She smirks. "So, Natsu-san is in love with Lucy-san" _'FuFu… This means Love Rival will stay away from Gray-sama'_

"She's with me all the time but she doesn't get it and you caught it in like a minute." He tells her. "I mean it is so obvious and yet she is clueless. And this is me we are talking about. There is no one more clueless than I am."

As Natsu tells are everything she realises that Natsu has never spoken to anyone about this. Maybe it is the only thing he kept hidden.

"Okay, Natsu-san. Juvia agrees. Let's help each other." She lets out her hand to him.

He joins his hand with hers and they shake on it. Then he suddenly grabs her wrist and starts walking towards the guild. "Let's go and tell the guild that we are together." He bellows.

She always thought Natsu's body will be hot all the time but it's not. His body is warm like everybody's. Suddenly she realises that this is not the time to be enjoying his warmth.

"Wait… Natsu-san… please." She tries to get his attention but when he pays no attention, she turns her wrist into water to get out of his grasp.

At the sudden loss of contact, Natsu turns to face her. "I thought we are doing this." He says with confusion.

"Yes, we are. But do you think anyone will believe us if we went in now and told them that we are together?"

He realises and shakes his head, "So, we do it tomorrow?" He runs a hand through his messy pink hair.

"No, something like this needs meticulous planning." Juvia has stars in her eyes.

"Meti- what?"

"Careful planning." Juvia answers.

Suddenly Natsu feels that this may not be his cup of tea or… his mug of beer.

* * *

 **A new story Fairy Tail! Everyone knows that Hiro Mashima owns Fairy Tail.**

 **This is not arc specific but it is after the Grand Magic Games and after Future Rogue has been defeated.**

 **I'm gonna rate it M for now, so I at least have the option of adding sexual content or curse words if i want. If I don't do it, I'll change it to T.  
**

 **Please read and review! Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoy the story.  
**

 **Neepa... :-)**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Juvia paces around Natsu's drawing room and tapping her chin with a finger. Natsu is sitting on his sofa with his legs spread wide and his hands behind his head. He watches her with an irritated expression.

"Juvia enough! The pacing is giving me a headache." He moves his hands to the side of his head like he is in pain. "Besides, we've been at it for an hour now and we haven't figured anything out yet."

Since Natsu is not allowed inside Fairy Hills, they decided to come to Natsu and Happy's home to make the plan. But alas! Till now, neither of them has been able to think of anything worth working on.

"That's because, Natsu-san, Juvia is the only one that's doing the thinking. Natsu-san is only sitting there waiting for Juvia to make the entire plan."

Natsu stood in a jiffy, "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He says loudly.

"Just what it sounds like Natsu-san." Juvia chuckles behind her palm.

"Well, I came up with a good idea, you shot it down without even thinking about it." Natsu folds his hands in front of his chest and complains to the bluenette.

"For the last time Natsu-san, Juvia is not stripping in front of the entire guild or in any other public place."

"I don't get it. Wouldn't it be easier if you had something in common with Brain Freeze? You can bond over it."

Juvia thumps him on his head. She, normally, doesn't resort to violence unless necessary but Natsu is saying the most ridiculous things ever.

"Gah! What was that for?" He yells at her.

"Natsu-san is being rude to Juvia." She simply states.

Natsu frowns at her and narrows his eyes on her. A second later, his eyes widen like he found the answer to all his questions.

"I know what you should do." He smirks at her.

"What?" She joins her hands on her chest and looks at Natsu eagerly.

"You need a wardrobe makeover." He says with a sense of finality. Like it is the answer to all the problems.

"Huh?! And what would Natsu-san know about fashion." She scoffs at him.

"If you must know, I know plenty. I may not know the names of all the colours. I may not know the names of the styles. But dammit, I know that since my scarf is white, I should be wearing black. So, the white and black are balanced out in my outfit." He gestures to the clothes he is wearing.

Juvia's jaw drops. _'Natsu-san thinks he knows fashion because he knows just that?'_ She clears her throat, "Natsu-san…" She realises she's at a loss of words.

"You know change up your sense of style. Show off those legs a little more." He slaps her thigh lightly and holds her hand up, "Show off your arms."

She pulls her hand out of his hand, "What's wrong with Juvia's style?"

"It's too boring. Honestly, other than the long slit, you've got nothing going on for you. Look at Lucy." He suddenly has stars in his eyes. "Her beautiful legs, her thin but strong arms, her tiny waist and ohhhhh… her huge boobs." He gestures with his hands.

Juvia's face goes red. She lands a big kick on his gut and he falls on the other side of the room.

"Now that was uncalled for." Natsu gets up and dusts himself off and he runs towards her and drives a fist into her gut.

She looks at him with a shocked expression on her face as she lands on the floor. She fights through the pain and stands up, "Does Natsu-san want to fight Juvia?" She asks sharply.

"Oh! I'm always up for a fight!" Natsu's fists light up.

"Water Slicer!" Juvia shouts. Water shoots out from her hands in form of small, sharp objects.

Natsu gets hit a little but dodges most of the attack. Water Slicer also hit his sofa and the wall behind the sofa. Some cracks appear on the wall.

"Haha! Now my turn." He moves quickly and lands a flaming punch on the side of her face.

"Natsu-san!" Juvia yells. "No face!" She balances herself quickly and lands kick on his ribs.

"Oaf!"

Natsu and Juvia go on for a while destroying a large part of his house in the process. The roof though damaged, is still in place. After half an hour both of them are on the floor and taking in rapid breaths.

"Now that I think about it, we've not fought before." Natsu observes.

"That is true." Juvia agrees.

"By the way, I think you are right. You shouldn't be changing yourself for anyone." Natsu tells her after calming down a little.

"Thank you, Natsu-san. Though, Juvia thinks that Natsu-san you should reduce his trips to Lucy-san's house."

"What?" Natsu's jaw drops and he looks straight at her.

"Please hear Juvia out." Juvia sits on the floor and brings her hands in front of her to tell him to calm down.

Natsu also sits, facing her and gestures for her to go on.

"See if Natsu-san slowly reduces his trips to Lucy-san's house, she'll wonder why Natsu-san has not been dropping by. The point of this is to make Lucy-san think about Natsu-san."

"Huh?! How will she think of me if I'm not around her?" Natsu scratches his head in confusion.

"Natsu-san, according to the books Juvia has read, what also matters is when a person thinks of the special someone when they are not around. Like how Natsu-san is thinking about Lucy-san now." Juvia explains.

"Hmmm… Makes sense." Natsu says while mulling over her words. He imagines Lucy running up to him with moist eyes and saying, _'Natsu, why don't you come to my house anymore? I miss your surprise visits.'_

Juvia snaps her fingers in front of his face.

He comes back to reality, "Well, then you need to stop calling Gray 'sama'."

"Why? Why?" Juvia panics. "But Juvia loves to Gray-sama 'sama'."

"Well, it's just like you said. It will make him think 'why you are not calling him 'sama'? Don't you think so?" He suggests doubtfully.

Her eyes light up, "That's brilliant! Natsu-san is making good suggestions after fighting." She gasps like she's come to a conclusion, "I see, Natsu-san's brain works better during and after a fight."

"Hey! I'm right here." He says loudly.

She ignores him, "What else do you think we can do Natsu-san?"

"Aaaahhhh…" The sudden spotlight on him makes his mind go blank.

Juvia takes a look around the house and the mess they made. "Natsu-san, I'm so sorry. I'll help you rebuild your home."

Finally Natsu notices the wreckage they caused. He also notices that their clothes took a small bit of beating too.

"Nah! It's fine." _'No, it's not. Building it all again is going to be tough. I don't have the patience to do it alone this time.'_

"No, I will help. We made the mess together, I will help." She gets up from the floor for more emphasis.

"No, it's okay, Juvia. I will do it."

"Natsu-san, please, we are nakama. Let me help."

He huffs like there's no way to get out of it but he is happy there is someone to help him.

"Well, Juvia thinks Natsu-san should concentrate on cleanliness a little bit." She brings her thumb and index finger close. "Lucy-san likes cleanliness." She sits down again.

"I think… you should stop stalking Gray."

She starts to say something but stops. She nods after a few long seconds.

"You should treat him like you treat the others. Make him feel like he is about to lose you."

Juvia's eyes widen. She interlocks her fingers in front of her chest and her mouth opens a little.

' _Juvia let's go on a date." Natsu-san says._

" _But Natsu-san…" Juvia stalls._

" _No Juvia, don't say no. Gray doesn't care about you b-"_

 _Natsu gets kicked in the face… by Gray._

 _Gray takes Juvia in his arms. "You stay away from her, Flame Breath! She's mine!" He looks into Juvia's eyes, "Juvia I won't let you be with anyone else because I love you."_

She's brought out of her reverie by a roar of laughter, "What's so funny, Natsu-san?"

"So, that's what you keep thinking when you are talking to yourself. You are really hilarious." Natsu rolls on the floor in laughter.

Juvia goes red as she realises that she actually spoke it all out instead of just imagining it.

"None of that when you are around him." He tells her when he finally gets over laughing.

"Natsu-san shouldn't touch Lucy-san inappropriately." She thumps her fists on the floor for effect.

A few instances of 'accidental groping' came to his mind. "Right." He says while looking at the floor.

She looks at the sofa. "Natsu-san, I'll replace the sofa."

"Huh?!" He looks at the sofa. "It's alright, you don't have to."

"We'll go to the store tomorrow and get one. Or maybe you can select one and we'll pick it up after we rebuild your place. I'll pay since I damaged it." Juvia declares.

He sighs. He didn't really have enough money to replace the sofa. _'It's not like I am home a lot so replacing the sofa is not a necessity. Besides, if I really need a sofa, I can always go to Lucy's home.'_

"No, no, no!"

Natsu realises that Juvia has his vests in her fists and shaking him, pulling him out of his thoughts. This is the first time they both are so close to each other. _'Well, she is a pretty girl. That bastard, Ice Cone!'_

"This is what we have been talking about, Natsu-san. Natsu-san can't just barge into Lucy-san's apartment anytime he wants. Natsu-san wants Lucy-san to see him in a new light. To fall in love with him."

"Yes, I will not go to her place. But where am I going to stay until we rebuild this place?"

"I have an idea." Juvia says but doesn't say anything more.

Natsu looks at her expectantly. "Well? Are you going to tell me?"

"We'll get to it when we leave from here. So, we'll meet up at the guild and go get the supplies for building Natsu-san's home?" Juvia asks.

Natsu nods.

"Natsu!"

Juvia and Natsu look away from each other and see that Happy had just entered the house through a broken wall. Happy stands in silence and takes in the damage. The house could fall down any moment.

A naughty smile creeps up Happy's face as he sees Natsu and Juvia standing close to each other and Juvia's hands still on his vest. He puts his little paws on his face, "Natsu and Juvia llllloooovvvvvveee each other."

* * *

 **I'm sorry, I'm updating the chapter a little later than I expected. Please read and review! I had a lot of fun reading the reviews for the previous chapter, so thank you!  
**

 **There could be a few mistakes in this chapter so please forgive me. I hope, you like the chapter though.**

 **Enjoy! Neepa... :-)**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Both Juvia and Natsu's jaws hit the floor at Happy's conclusion.

"WHAT?" Both of them scream.

"Juvia doesn't love Natsu-san."

"Happy, there's no way I'm in love with Juvia."

"But you both look suspicious to me. " Happy snickers.

Both of them start countering Happy at the same time.

"It was just a friendly match." Natsu says with a frown.

"Between two members of the guild." Juvia adds.

Happy shakes his head in disbelief, "You overdid it again, Natsu. You didn't even spare your own house."

"It wasn't me this time. It was her." Natsu points at Juvia and she bows her head. "Not every time it's me who breaks things, you know!" He says loudly.

Happy looks at her with shock when she doesn't defend herself. "Why would you destroy our home, Juvia?"

"Juvia is sorry Happy-kun. Juvia got carried away. Juvia will help rebuild your home. Juvia promises."

"Natsu, let's stay at Lucy's apartment until this is sorted out." Happy suggests happily.

"Aye, Happy!" Natsu agrees without a second thought.

Juvia clears her throat making Natsu look at her. When he raises an eyebrow at her, she looks at him meaningfully.

"Oh! Right." He scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "Happy, we won't stay at Lucy's place."

Happy notices the exchange between the fire mage and the water mage but doesn't say anything about it, "But Natsu, we always go to Lucy's place."

"Well, we may to stay for a couple of days so…" Natsu pauses to think of something appropriate to say.

"I'm sure Lucy won't mind." Happy says but Natsu hesitates. "Well, I'm going over to Lucy's place. I know eventually you will end up there too." Happy's wings appear and he flies off from the forest.

"That was close, Natsu-san." Juvia tells him sternly.

"I forgot, okay! Anyways where am I going to stay?" Natsu asks her sternly.

"That's easy!" She beams at him, "Gajeel-kun's place."

"What! I'm not staying with Iron Fart!"

She grimaces at the nickname, "Why not? Gajeel-kun normally doesn't refuse Juvia's requests."

"NO!"

"Then where else…" Her eyes sparkle as realisation dawns on her. "Gray-sama's apartment! It's perfect."

"Hold it! I'm not staying at Ice Breath's place either."

"But Natsu-san, it's perfect. You can make Juvia look good in front of Gray-sama."

"And how does that help me?"

"Natsu-san come on, Juvia said she'd help you with Lucy-san," She whines. "I just have to think of something good. For now, can we just do this?"

Natsu is unconvinced but he agrees anyway. "Fine, let's go to Brain Freeze's place."

Juvia leads the way with a skip in her step. _'I've never been inside Gray-sama's house. I'm so excited.'_

"So, how are we going to take it from here?" Natsu asks suddenly.

"Juvia doesn't know yet. But Juvia is sure together, Natsu-san and Juvia will find a way to work it."

For some reason Natsu finds himself believing that both of them will succeed in their quest. _'In a way, it is like a quest. So, we have to do whatever it takes.'_

"We are here." She quickly gets into the building and takes the stairs. Gray lives on the 3rd floor.

"Do you think he's home yet?" Natsu asks her doubtfully.

She stops mid-step to consider the possibility that Gray may not be home. "Well then Natsu-san will have no other option but to stay at Gajeel-kun's place then."

"I hope Gray is home. I hope Gray is home. I hope Gray is home." Natsu starts chanting it like a mantra. Juvia chuckles at his actions.

She knocks Gray's door. They hearing shuffling from inside and they both sigh in relief.

The door opens. Gray stands there in his naked glory.

' _What more did I expect? If he doesn't have problems stripping in public, he probably doesn't wear anything at home.'_ Natsu shakes his head dejectedly. _'I wish I could go to Lucy's home instead.'_

"Gray-sama, your clothes…" Juvia tells him. _'Gray-sama is so hot. Which is ironic because he is an ice mage. Whatever Gray-sama is so hot.'_

Gray sighs when he sees Juvia in front of him. "Juvia… what are you doing here?" Finally, he notices Natsu behind her. "Natsu? What are you doing here?"

"Gray-sa…"

Natsu clears his throat behind her. _'Not on my watch, Juvia!'_

"Gray-sa…n, Gray-san, Please do Juvia a favour." Juvia says timidly.

' _Gray-san? When the hell did she start calling me that?'_ He frowns and folds his hands on his chest. "What is it?" He finally notices their clothes. _'Were they in a fight or something?'_

"You see, Juvia and Natsu-san fought a little bit and Juvia sort of (Natsu scoffs) destroyed Natsu-san's home."

"Wait what?" Gray ruffles his hair in confusion.

"Is your brain made of ice too? We fought and she brought my house down. Can't you understand something so simple!" Natsu says loudly.

"Shut up! Flame Breath!"

"Do you wanna fight ice princess!?" He takes a fighting stance.

"Certainly not outside my house!" Gray makes himself clear.

Juvia puts her hands in front on Natsu's chest to stop him, "Natsu-san, we are not here to fight. Besides, isn't one fight enough for today?" She asks him pointedly.

Gray notices her touching Natsu and feels a fang of jealousy pierce him. _'What the hell is happening here? First she calls me san and now she's touching him.'_ He makes a sort of a strangled noise even though he was just going for clearing his throat.

That brings Juvia's attention back to Gray. "Juvia was wondering if Gray-sa…n would let Natsu-san stay with you for a couple of days."

"And why would I do that?"

' _Juvia needs to think of something fast.'_ Her proverbial bulb lights up, "Well, if Gray-sa…n doesn't let Natsu-san stay with him then Juvia will have to sneak him into Juvia's dorm…" She pauses dramatically. _'This is your litmus test, Gray-sama.'_

Natsu and Gray's eyes widen and their mouths open wide in shock at her words. Natsu wonders if this is a part of the play.

"But wouldn't that be wonderful?" Natsu tries to say it in a husky voice, "We could get closer don't you think?" He says suggestively.

Now it is Juvia's turn to get shocked. She slowly turns to look at him and blinks at him. She blinks twice, thrice, four times. She has no words to say so all she can do is blink at him.

' _WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON! WHY ON EARTH ARE THESE TWO ACTING LIKE THIS? THIS IS NOT GOOD. WHY? WHY? I DON'T LIKE THIS. JUVIA STOP LOOKING AT THIS ASSHOLE LIKE THAT. NATSU, YOU BASTARD, I'M GONNA KILL YOU!'_ Gray mentally shouts at the two people in front of him.

Natsu enjoys Juvia's reaction. He smirks and then winks at her. Juvia catches on and nods slightly.

"Are you both done eyeing each other?" Gray suppresses his anger but some of it seeps out.

Juvia and Natsu face Gray at the same time.

"So, Can Natsu-san stay with you for a couple of days, Gray-sama? Please." Juvia looks at him expectantly.

He frowns uncertainly and nods, not trusting to say any words at the moment.

Juvia beams at Gray. "Thank you, Gray-sa…n." She attempts to get closer and hug him but he puts his hand out to stop her.

"Gray, watch where you are touch her in public." Natsu comments with a smirk.

Gray looks and his jaw drops. He accidentally caught Juvia's boob. He pulls his hand back quickly. "I'm sorry, I didn't me to."

Juvia is about to brush it off but Natsu gives her a look and shakes his head. Juvia gulps, "Gray-sa…n should be sorry." She says it relentlessly.

Gray raises her eyebrow at her. He looks at both of them suspiciously. _'What exactly were the two of them doing anyway? … Nah, no way, they would have done that. What if they did? They are acting so different from the way they usually do. Did I overdo it? Is she tired of waiting for me?'_

"Well, Juvia should go now. Natsu-san, do you want me to meet you here? The stores are close by, so we can just pick everything up from here and go to your place?"

"Hold on, why are you going to his place again tomorrow?" Gray asks before he can stop himself.

"Well, she broke my house so she is going to help me fix it. Why are you asking such a dumb question?" Natsu answers for Juvia.

Gray opens his mouth to say something but stops himself.

"You got a problem?" Natsu pushes further.

Gray shakes his head. "It is only fair."

"Hmmm… Good night, Natsu-san. Good night, Gray-sama." She slips. "Juvia means Gray-san, Gray-san."

Natsu looks down and shakes his head. _'Everything she did till now just went down the drain.'_

She waits a few awkward seconds for the boys to say something. "O…kay, Juvia will be going then." She turns around to leave.

"Juvia wait." Natsu calls out just as she about to go down the stairs. "I had fun today." He sounds smitten.

Juvia for the second time doesn't know what to do or say and blinks slowly but repeatedly.

Natsu pulls her closer and hugs her, "Just go with it," he whispers in her ears.

She nods slightly and loosely wraps her hands around him. She pulls back and smiles widely at him, "Me too."

Next second, Natsu is quickly pulled out of Juvia's mock embrace. Juvia and Natsu notice that Gray pulled him by his scarf. Gray doesn't allow any more exchanges in between them. He pulls him into the apartment, "Bye Juvia." He shuts the door and bolts it.

Juvia chuckles at Gray's antics, "Well, Natsu-san seems to know what he is doing. Now, Juvia better come through on her word and do something for Natsu-san and Lucy-san."

* * *

 **Please read and review! Thank you so much for the reviews for the previous chapters, you all are so encouraging! :-) Thanks also to the people who have added the story to their favourite and alert lists.**

 **Enjoy! Neepa...:-)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Cat! Get out of my house!" Lucy yells at Happy as soon as she walks out of her bathroom and sees him making himself at home.

"But I have nowhere else to go, Lucy." Happy says in a sad voice.

"Nice try. But I won't fall something so stupid."

"But it's true. Natsu and Juvia decided to have a fight in our house and they both destroyed it."

"Wait… Natsu and Juvia?" Lucy's jaw drops.

"Aye!" Happy covers the growing blush on his face with his paws, "Natsu and Juvia are in looooove!"

"Hahahahaha! Good one, Happy. That will never happen."

"You didn't see them, Lucy. They looked different." Happy says seriously.

"Happy, Love could be staring right in Natsu's face but he'd think of fighting with it."

He ignores her, "I always thought it was going to be you and Natsu, Lucy." Happy says thoughtfully.

Lucy goes red in the face. "Why would you think that?! I didn't even think of that." _'Well the thought crossed my mind a couple of times but Natsu never seemed to be interested.'_

"It's just like Aquarius said you will never find a boyfriend. Natsu is go-"

Happy doesn't get to finish the sentence as Lucy kicks him across the room.

She looks angrily at the blue cat, "You don't have to bring my lack of boyfriend into everything." She huffs, "Where is Natsu, by the way? If he really destroyed the house, he would have been here with you."

Happy stands up shakily, "He didn't come with me."

"Now, I know you are lying. You could have just told me you like my house better than yours."

"You sure think too much of yourself, Lucy."

"Cat, I am very close to throwing you out."

He hugs one of her legs, "No Lucy, don't kick me out." He gives her puppy dog eyes.

"Fine." She gives in.

Happy smiles brightly, "I knew it is easy to melt you."

She sighs. _'Someday, I will get you.'_ "So, why didn't Natsu want to come with you?"

"Because Juvia didn't want him to." He whispers conspiratorially.

"Huh?!" Her eyes widen in shock.

"Now, do you believe me? That there might be something going on in between them?" Happy asks her.

Lucy looks out of the window unable to agree or disagree. _'Well, this is certainly suspicious behavior.'_

* * *

After Gray shuts and bolts the door, he turns to look at Natsu. _'If looks could kill, he'd probably be dead by now.'_ His primal instinct tells him to beat the pulp out of the pink haired freak.

"So, how are we doing this?" Natsu asks suddenly.

"Doing what?" He asks in suppressed anger.

"Do I take your room and you, the sofa?"

"Why would I take the sofa at my own place?"

"Because I'm your guest." Natsu guesses.

"No. I've a spare bedroom." Gray explains. "You take that room."

Natsu frowns a little, "Don't you have a one bedroom apartment?"

Gray shakes his head, "I moved to this new place." He moves his hands around, gesturing towards the apartment.

"Sweet! When did you move?"

' _Tch! We may have known each other for a long time but his habit of forgetting details about others is still very annoying.'_ "A couple of weeks back. Dammit Natsu! You were here just last week with Erza and Cana."

"I don't remember." He replies flatly.

"As expected of you." He looks at his nakama while Natsu looks around the house. "Say, Natsu…"

"Um…"

"What were you and Juvia doing this evening?" He asks with a straight face. _'I can't believe I just asked without thinking it through."_

' _Damn it, Gray! I can't tell if he is jealous or not! Stupid Expressionless Face!'_ "Ahhhh… I found her walking around while I was going back home. We started talking and walking. Next thing I remember, we are at my house fighting. She is strong." Natsu sounds impressed.

"She is. She was one of the Element Four in Phantom Lord. She is bound to be strong."

Natsu shrugs, "It doesn't matter to me how she was back then. Now she is strong and that makes her a worthy opponent."

"Yarey, yarey! All you think of is fighting, Natsu." Gray sighs.

"I should have a go at her again." He smirks.

"I think one fight is enough." He says with a sense of finality.

Natsu raises his eyebrow at him, "Juvia will decide if she wants to fight with me again or not."

' _I slipped again! Tonight is not my night.'_ "Ya, I know that. I'm just saying no one would make it a habit to fight you on a regular basis."

Natsu shoots a big smile, "We'll see about that. I'm sleepy." His stomach growls, "On second thoughts, do you have something to eat?" He asks sheepishly.

Gray points towards the kitchen. "There must be some food in the fridge or maybe in the shelves." Gray doesn't keep a lot of food at home because of the nature of his job.

"Great! You are not that bad."

"Too bad, I can't return the compliment."

"DAMMIT GRAY! I'm being nice here."

"So am I. By letting you stay here."

That shuts Natsu up. He goes to the kitchen for food.

"Oye, I'm going off to sleep. Don't ruin my place." Gray calls out while making his way to his bedroom.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Natsu yells while rummaging the fridge.

"Just what it sounds like." Gray chuckles.

"I heard that." He informs the ice mage.

* * *

Gray opens his eyes in frustration. _'Dammit! I can't sleep!'_ He sits up in anger. _'Why am I even reacting this way? It's not like something even happened in between them. But the way they behaved… Why on earth did Juvia even stop calling me 'Gray-sama'? I mean, yes, good riddance! But it was so sudden. Natsu is behind it. I just know it. Flame Brain must have told her something.'_

Gray is angered by his own assumptions. _'Tch! Now I'm acting like her. Talking to myself, spacing out. When did she start rubbing off on me?'_

He is distracted by the sound of his bedroom door being opened. He looks up to see Natsu leaning casually on the door frame. Gray looks at him questioningly.

"There was hardly any food." He says plainly.

"I don't keep a lot of food here." He replies plainly.

"You could have told me before." Natsu yells. "There was only some fish, some chicken, some curry sort of thing, some cookies and some chips!" Natsu complains.

"You ate all of that?" Gray asks in surprise.

"Yes, of course! I told you I was hungry." He answers like it is the most obvious answer.

"And you are still hungry?"

"Well, I guess, I'll be okay for tonight. I did eat a lot at the guild today." He pats his stomach affectionately.

"Then why are you complaining?" Gray asks angrily.

The fire mage brushes him off, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I don't know." He suddenly covers himself up with his blanket, leaving only his face visible. "If you thought I was asleep, why would come into my room, you pervert! What are your intensions?" Gray shouts.

"WHAT! What the fuck do you think you are saying?" Natsu shouts back at Gray.

"Thank God, I'm awake. I don't know what you would have done to me if I was asleep already."

"GRAY! I don't attack people in their sleep. Unless…" He falls deep into thoughts.

"Unless what, you pinked haired freak?"

He smirks, "Unless drawing on your face with markers will be considered as attacking." He pulls his hand from behind. Gray sees a couple of markers in his hand.

Gray's jaw drops, "There's no way I'll let you destroy my face!"

Natsu frowns, "Fine, not tonight!"

"Not ever!"

Natsu looks seriously at Gray, "Why'd you let me stay?"

Gray understands that this is the closest thing to a 'thank you' he'll get from Natsu, "I don't know. Look, just be grateful and leave it there."

"Bet you didn't want me to stay with Juvia!" Natsu smirks at his frenemy.

Natsu easily dodges the pillow Gray throws at him. "If you want to stay with her so bad, then go over to Fairy Hills right now!"

"Nah!" Natsu shudders. "I don't want Erza, Laki and Cana to attack me."

"Then just go to the next room and sleep." Gray says exasperatedly.

Natsu grunts in response and closes the door behind him.

"Gah! He's so frustrating." He sinks into his bed.

"I heard that!" He hears Natsu say.

"Ummm…" He looks up at the ceiling. _'Looks like, I won't be able to sleep tonight.'_ He sighs in defeat.

* * *

The celestial mage looks out her window hoping that Natsu would drop by any moment. Happy is happily asleep on the bed and snores softly, occasionally sleep talking about fish.

"I don't get it! When I don't need him here, he is always here. And now, when he actually has a reason to be here, he doesn't show up." Lucy says.

"So… much! Must eat… all the fish!" Happy says contently.

' _I don't feel alone anymore because of him. I wish he'd show up so I wouldn't worry about him."_ She chuckles at her thoughts. _'Honestly though, I'm more worried about the damage he must have caused the person he is with now. Juvia?"_

Her thoughts drift to Juvia and the possibility of her having a possible relationship with the Fire Dragon Slayer. "Please, they have hardly ever had a proper conversation, so a relationship is out of question."

' _But what if they have been fooling everyone from the beginning? They've been together all this time but never let anyone know. Juvia followed Gray around to throw all of us off but in reality she has been following Natsu around. How scandalous!"_ She puts her fingers on her cheeks, closes her eyes, "That will make a great story. I will start writing it tomorrow."

"But seriously though," She becomes serious again, "I will have to find out what's happening in between them. I will observe them in the guild tomorrow."

She sighs and looks out of the window again.

* * *

 **I apologise for not uploading the new chapter during the weekend. Appy, my lappy, broke down... :-( I had already started working on the chapter on that laptop. For now, I'm using my father's old laptop.**

 **To get the chapter out fast, I may have made mistakes so please forgive me for that.**

 **Please read and review! I love all of the reviews I've gotten till now, thank you so much! you all keep me going! Thanks also to the people who have added the story their lists! I'm very obliged and humbled by the response...:-)**

 **Enjoy! Neepa...:-)**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

When the sun comes up, Gray looks out of his window. He watches the sky change colours as the sun climbs up the sky. After a short while, he hears birds chirping. Gray sighs. _'I would have liked to have to have woken up to such a morning.'_ Gray didn't get a wink of sleep last night. His thoughts kept drifting off to Juvia and the effing Human Torch.

"Tch…" he clicks his tongue, "This can't be happening." _'For all the declarations of love she makes for me, she sure went gallivanting into the enemy's arms pretty quickly.'_ "Wait a minute, Natsu is not the enemy?" _'Hell yes, he is. Going after my Juvia, that bastard!'_ "Wait, what? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no…..no…no…no, not my Juvia…NO!"

He sits up quickly and covers his face with his palms. "This is not happening! When did this happen? Maybe, this is bad dream. I should try waking up." He lies back down and closes his eyes in the hopes of waking up in the real world.

He opens his eyes and huffs. ' _This is not a dream, Gray!'_

He thinks back to the time they met the first time. _'It wasn't a life changing event or anything. But from what Cana told me, it was a very big deal for her. She told me I took away her rain.'_ He looks out of the window. ' _Well, it sure is nice that it doesn't rain all the time. But I didn't really do anything.'_

He runs his fingers through his messy black hair lazily. He remembers the time he stepped in the line of fire just to save her. _'I only did it because she is my nakama! I would do it for anyone.'_ That's what he tells himself, since that day. It's the easiest explanation for him. _'Since that day though, I have a stronger urge to keep her safe.'_ "Urgh! I'm just sleep deprived. I couldn't sleep all night because of Natsu's snores."

Honestly though, Natsu's snores didn't bother Gray much, it's just that he needs someone to blame his sleeplessness on.

"Well's not like I'll be able to sleep now, so…" He gets off his bed and stretches a little bit. He goes into his bathroom to attend nature's call. Since he is already in the bathroom, he decides to brush his teeth and take a bath. He comes out of the bathroom with only a towel on. He opens his cupboard and takes out an orange shirt and blue jeans and a black underwear. He wears them leisurely.

He stands straight in front of the mirror and smirks at himself. "Gray Fullbuster, you've totally got it." _'That's why you have Juvia chasing after you.'_ "Gah! I'm going to take a job today, so I can clear my head. Once I get out of Magnolia, I won't be thinking about her."

The bell rings. Gray looks at the clock. 8.45. "Who's here at this hour?" He leaves his room with a frown.

* * *

"Good Morning, Lucy!" Happy shouts in Lucy's ear.

"Aaaaaargh!" Her eyes shoot open. "Why the hell did you do that?" Lucy groans.

"Boy, you're not a morning person, are you?" Happy says like he did nothing wrong.

Lucy gives Happy a death stare.

He starts shivering. "Sorry, Lucy. I won't do that again."

"That's better." She says coldly.

"Looks like Natsu didn't come here at all." Happy says to divert her attention.

She sighs, "Guess, he didn't." She felt something in between disappointment and anger last night but now she is only feeling her anger build. _'Just wait, Natsu! I'm going to kick you from one end of the guild hall to the other.'_

"Maybe he went to the guild." The blue cat suggests.

"Maybe…"

"Lucy, do you have any fish?"

Lucy's jaw drops. _'He moved on from the topic so quickly.'_ "You just sounded worried about Natsu and suddenly you ask for fish?"

He scratches his cheek while thinking, "Ya, well, I can't worry on an empty stomach!" He replies cheerfully.

Lucy falls off the bed. "That is not even a thing."

"You don't know how cats work."

' _I don't think anybody works like that._ ' She shakes her head, _'Why do I even bother with these two?'_ "There's no fish at home."

His faces drops. A second later, his face lights up, "I'll go to the guild then. I'm sure Mira will give me some fish. His wings appear and he flies off from the window.

"Hey, use the door sometimes!" The blonde shouts after him.

"Hey! Not so loud!" One of the neighbours shouts back."

A blush appears on her cheeks, "Sorry."

She lies back on her bed again. _'Why am I feeling so irritated by Natsu's behavior? In fact, this should make me happy that he didn't show up at my place thinking like it is his.'_ She sighs. _'Now all I have to do is make sure the cat gets the message too.'_

She closes her eyes to sleep again. She opens her eyes after a few minutes, "Stupid Cat! I can't go back to sleep now!"

Her thoughts drift to Natsu. "When the hell did Natsu and Juvia become BFFs?" _'What if they are more than BFFs?'_

"No, that's not possible! I mean, Juvia is madly in love Gray. Does Natsu have feelings for Juvia? No,no,no…no,no,no,no….no,no! Then why does he decide to not come over to my place last night? It was at Juvia's insistence. Why on earth did Juvia not want Natsu to spend the night at my home? What is her problem?"

"Wait a minute! All this is on the basis of what Happy said. We all know that Happy does exaggerate facts a little bit." She attempts convince herself. "I will know everything once I get to the guild." _'I will just ask Natsu to explain and he will tell me everything. Or will he?'_

She turns around on her bed and lets out a scream into her pillow. "ARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHH! Is Natsu really trying to sabotage Juvia and Gray? Why is he going so far? I'm right here. Why can't he see me?" She sighs sadly.

She sits up on her bed, "Don't think so much, Lucy! Not until you know all the facts. Once I meet him, I will know everything. With her mind made up, she decides to get off her bed and get ready for the day.

* * *

"Good Morning, Gray-san!" Gray hears the bluenette's voice as soon as he opens the door.

"What are you doing here in the morning?" He asks instinctively and immediately regrets it when he sees her smile drop a little.

"Juvia came to make breakfast. If Juvia were to take Natsu-san out for breakfast then Juvia will be broke." She shows the bags in her hands.

Gray sees egg cartons, loaves of bread, some fruits and vegetables and some other small packets in the bags.

He snorts, "Not sure if it'll be enough for him."

Juvia sighs, "But it's meant for all of us."

"Uhhh… Maybe it'll be enough. You never know." Gray says awkwardly.

"So…" Juvia looks at him expectantly. But when Gray doesn't seem to understand, she says, "Gray-sama, are going to let Juvia in?" _'Oh no! Juvia called him Gray-sama again. Even after I practiced all night, I slipped.'_ She closes her eyes and shakes her head slightly.

He notices her slip and smiles a little to himself, "Oh! Yes. Come in."

' _Last Night, I was so close to getting in but today I am actually in Gray-sama's apartment.'_ She smiles from ear to ear while looking around the apartment.

"Juvia, why are you smiling like?" He asks her cautiously.

She stops immediately, "Nothing. Where's the kitchen? Is Natsu-kun awake yet?" She puts added emphasis on 'kun'.

Gray's jaw drops and eyes widen. _'When did she stat calling him 'kun'?'_ "I didn't know you and Natsu had become so close." He observes coolly.

Juvia finds the kitchen and deposits the bags on the counter. Gray waits impatiently for her to answer. "Well, after yesterday, Juvia thinks of Natsu-kun as a good friend. I'm guessing he is not awake?"

Gray shakes his head. "I'll go wake him up."

Gray takes a deep breath right outside the guest door. _'Damn this is getting tougher to handle.'_ He knocks, "I'm coming in."

He opens the door and finds Natsu sleeping in a position that sort of resembled the spread eagle position. A small fire in his mouth, increasing and decreasing depending on his breathing. A thin trail of drool down the side of his mouth.

"How is this even possible?" Gray shakes his head amusement. He kicks Natsu's leg roughly and says, "Oye! Get up, Juvia is here. She's making breakfast."

As soon as he says the last sentence, he feels something in the pit of his stomach. He knows it's not hunger. _'I wish the breakfast was only for me.'_ He tugs on his hair in frustration. _'She's here making breakfast only because this buffoon is here! How come she has never offered to cook breakfast for me all these years? I would have declined, no doubt. But she never even offered.'_

"Gray-san?" Juvia calls out from the bedroom door. "What are you doing? Why is Gray-san not waking Natsu-kun up?"

Gray straightens up too fast when he hears her voice, "He seems to be deep in sleep." He says rigidly. _'Look at her caring so much for 'Natsu-kun'.'_

"Maybe, I should give it a try." She stands next to Gray. Without saying a word, she rises her right hand a little with a tiny smirk on her face, she shoots a jet of water at Natsu.

As soon as the water makes contact with Natsu's face, he wakes up with a fright and coughs out the water. "Hey, what was that for?" Natsu shouts.

Gray watches her actions with amusement. He'd never wanted Juvia more. He wants this girl who will shoot a jet of water at his nemesis just for fun. He sees her flying back and hitting the wall. Gray realizes belatedly that Natsu sent her flying to the other end of the room with a punch on her gut.

Gray reaches her to check on her. "What the hell! Why'd you do that?" He shouts at Natsu.

"It's just payback for what she did." Natsu retorts back.

"Juvia is fine." She stands up and dusts herself off and takes a fighting stance.

Natsu follows her and takes up a fighting stance.

Gray looks at the two element users in bewilderment, _'Are element users crazy? I've never seen Juvia like this.'_

Both of them are about to attack but Gray stands in between them, "STOP! Just stop. This is my home. If you want to fight, do it outside. You both already destroyed Natsu's home and now you want to destroy mine as well!"

"Sorry, Gray-san." Juvia looks down on the floor in embarrassment.

"Jeez, stop being such a drama queen." Natsu tells Gray.

"Natsu-kun, freshen up. Juvia is making breakfast."

Natsu's eyes widen slightly when Juvia addresses him but he just nods in acceptance. "All right, I'm hungry!" He exclaims. Just then there's a loud noise.

"Jeez, Natsu! That stinks!" Gray covers his noise gets out of the room. Juvia follows Gray quickly.

Natsu scratches his cheek, "Well, that was embarrassing!"

* * *

Gray, Juvia and Natsu are sitting around the small dining table in the kitchen and eating breakfast. There are cut fruits, toast and omelets on the table.

"So, I was thinking…" Natsu starts.

Gray snorts, "Didn't know you have the ability to do that."

"What the hell did you say, Gray? You wanna take this outside!"

"Yes, I do!"

"No fighting while eating." Juvia says in a calm voice.

They ignore Juvia's voice and get ready to go outside. Juvia sighs audibly and uses water lock on the two of them.

"Let me out!" Juvia hears Natsu's muffled, angry voice. "Let me out of here!" He bangs on the water lock with his fists.

"This is not funny, Juvia" Juvia hears Gray muffled, calm but angry voice. Gray folds his arms on his chest and glares at her. "You know, I can break out of the water lock."

"Then why doesn't Gray-san do it?"

"It'll take a lot of my energy and I want to use all my energy for fighting this idiot." He says bitterly.

"You are the idiot, Gray." Natsu yells.

"Juvia will release you both, if you don't fight and eat the breakfast that Juvia made peacefully." She says strongly.

Both Natsu and Gray are astonished by her tone and nodded sheepishly.

She releases them and the fall on the floor but both of them are dry. They figured Juvia must have made sure not to get wet. They take their seats and continue eating.

"I'll get you later, Gray." Natsu tells him.

"We'll see." He smirks at him.

"As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted by him." He points toast at Gray. "I was thinking that we could get Levy to use solid script to make my house." He smiles brightly.

Gray laughs. Natsu throws him a dirty look.

"I don't think, Levy's magic works like that, Natsu-kun." Juvia points out.

"What's not to work? I think, we should give it a shot once." Natsu says with determination. "It'll save us from a lot of work, Juvia."

"There's no harm in trying once." Juvia says doubtfully.

Gray stops laughing immediately. He puts his hand on Juvia's, "Don't let his stupidity rub off on you, Juvia."

* * *

 **Sorry for posting so late, I got a little stuck! Thank you so much for the appreciation till now! Please read and review! Did you guys read this week's chapter? Like OMG, right! Mashima-san is totally killing it!**

 **Enjoy! Neepa... :-)**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Juvia releases a sigh of relief, she didn't know she was holding, when they reach the guild. Fortunately, Gray and Natsu didn't tear each other's heads off on the way to the guild.

' _They bicker like little children.'_ Juvia thinks.

Gray and Natsu didn't start a fight again because they didn't want to be put in a water lock again. Although, they kept throwing each other dirty looks the entire way and passed rude comments on each other.

Gray and Natsu open the guild doors. As soon as the three mages set foot in the guild, the entire guild goes silent and looks at them in shock. Gray, Juvia and Natsu as taken aback by their reaction and look at them dubiously.

"What's going on?" Gray asks. "Fairy Tail have never been this quiet before."

"Maybe what Happy told us could be true." Cana says in shock and takes a sip from the barrel in front of her.

"I didn't want to believe it." Macao says.

"And who would have thought they would go and take Gray's permission before letting everyone know." Levy chimes in.

Elfman starts crying, "Gray, you are a real man! It is so manly of you to accept it so graciously."

"Natsu and Juvia, you both are so honorable to think of Gray's feelings before going public." Erza pulls both Natsu and Juvia into a hug. The fire and the water mage let out a yelp when their skulls hit the scarlet haired mage's armour.

"Never knew you had it in you to be so noble, Stripper." Gajeel says in suppressed admiration. "Maybe, I'll write a song about it." He snaps his fingers, "Shoobi doo bop…"

"What the hell are you all talking about?" Gray cuts in.

"Natsu and Juvia are together, see, I told you all." Happy says.

Natsu and Juvia manage to break out of Erza's grip, "What?" Natsu and Juvia say in unison.

"NATSU!"

Lucy stands with her hands on her hips and looks at him with anger.

"What?" Natsu asks her.

"What do you mean what? Where were you last night? After Happy showed up, I figured you'd show up too. I was worried." She punches him in the gut.

"OH! That hurt, Lucy! I stayed with Gray last night."

"Gray? You were at Gray's place?" She looks at Gray for confirmation.

Gray nods.

"Don't believe me?" He asks in disbelief.

"Why would you stay at his place? When you crash at my place all the time?"

"Ah, Lucy-san, I was the one who told Natsu-kun to stay at Gray-san (a collective gasp is heard)."

"Why would you do that?" She asks in confusion.

"Lucy-san is always complaining about how Natsu-kun is always at your place without your permission. So, I suggested that Natsu-kun stay at Gray-san's (collective gasp) place."

"Well, that is true." Levy nods.

"Yes, she is always complaining about it." Cana agrees.

"Ummm…" Lucy is at a loss of words. _'Damn her! Who is she to interfere in this?'_ "Even if I do that… it doesn't mean he is not welcome when he is in need. Or when he comes in with permission."

Juvia gives Natsu a meaningful look at Lucy's words. Natsu reluctantly nods in understanding and she smirks at him. This silent interaction is not missed by Gray and Lucy.

"So, you complain about me all the time, uh, Lucy?" Natsu asks her playfully.

The blonde mage waves her hands in front of herself and smiles, "No no no, it's what you think."

"So, you both are not together then? Lisanna asks.

"Juvia and I are only friends."

"Yesterday was just a friendly match gone bad, nothing else." Juvia adds.

"This is the last time I'm believing Happy's words." Lily says.

"Well, I didn't really believe Happy's words in the first place." Carla tells Lily.

"But Carla, you said that Juvia and Natsu would make an interesting pairing." Wendy says.

"Yes. I did say that. Because Fire and Water, who would not want to see how that would work?" She speaks like how a teacher talks to little children.

"Yes, that would have been interesting to see." Lily says thoughtfully.

"Fire and Water sounds good but nothing can beat Water and Ice. Ice can't exist without water." Evergreen chimes in.

Everyone starts discussing the combinations they support.

Natsu, Juvia, Lucy and Gray look in shock as the discussion turns into a brawl very soon. Mirajane looks at the turns of events and chuckles to herself.

"ENOUGH!" Master Makarov shouts. This causes everyone to stop. "You brats let everything get out of hand!" He strokes his chin in thought. "It's obvious Fire and Water are more interesting together because they naturally oppose each other."

The four protagonists look at the Master in shock.

"End of discussion! Now take a request and go out on jobs instead of wasting time here."

A majority of the guild members scramble to the request board.

"Natsu-kun, let's go talk to Levy-san before she leaves for a job." She locks her arm with his arm and pulls him in the direction of the petite mage.

He hides his shock when Juvia interlocks their arms and moves in the direction Juvia is maneuvering.

Gray lets out a small grunt when he looks at them but sighs when he realizes what they are about to do. Lucy, on the other keeps staring at them.

"Gray, what the hell is happening?"

"I wish I knew." He is annoyed.

"When? How?"

"Welcome to my world! I'm been thinking about that since last night." Gray sits on a bench and supports his face with his palm. He watches them discreetly.

"Did they act like this last night as well?"

"More or less."

"Do you think they've been dating each other behind our backs all this time?" She asks conspiratorially.

He narrows his eyes at her. "Where did you get that idea from?"

"Well, looking at them, it feels like something is brewing."

"Nothing is brewing!" He bangs a palm on the table. "Juvia is just helping him out." _'I may have said it but what if what Lucy just said is true?'_

' _Dammit! Gray is right. He trusts Juvia so much. I need to put faith in Natsu as well.'_ "You are right, Gray. I shouldn't have thought or said something like that."

He looks at Lucy and nods. He goes back to looking at Natsu and Juvia discreetly.

"So why are you staring at them then?"

"Haven't you heard? Apparently, Fire and Water are interesting together." He answers sarcastically.

"So, you don't trust Juvia as much as you claimed minutes ago?" Lucy presses.

"Oh, I trust her. It's Natsu, I don't trust. I don't know what he's been telling her but she has been acting strangely."

"Well, I don't trust Juvia." Lucy says defensively. "For all we know, she could be the one manipulating Natsu into doing things he doesn't usually do."

"Juvia is smart but she will never manipulate someone. First of all, is Natsu even capable of being influenced?" He speaks coolly but Lucy notices the edge in his voice.

"True but for whatever reason he seems to be doing everything she wants." Lucy points out.

"No Juvia is doing whatever Natsu wants."

"Is Natsu even capable of manipulating someone?" Lucy is on the verge of losing it.

"There's no use if we argue. The best way to find out answers is by observing them." Gray says nonchalantly. He may sound nonchalant but he feels anything but nonchalant.

Lucy nods in shock. "Agreed. What exactly will we find out if we keep observing from a distance?"

"I don't know. Changes in mannerism, I guess. You are the aspiring writer so you should know these things, not me."

"I know, but I was just trying to figure out what exactly we are to focus on."

Gray rolls his eyes and looks at his subjects from the corner of his eyes. Minutes later he looks at Lucy. He sighs.

"Could you be any more obvious?" He asks her irritably.

"Huh?!" She doesn't even look at Gray.

"Be discreet."

"Oh…Ooh! Right." She straightens her back. "How about I go and sit next to Levy-chan and join the conversation. We'll know what they are talking about."

Gray shakes his head thinking about the discussion they might be having. _'Levy looks a little shocked. Well anyone would be at such a request.'_ "Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Tell me what you know."

"Lucy, I've been really patient up till now but I really want to do this in silence. If you can't do this in silence then I suggest you move." Gray tells her irritably.

She blows a raspberry at him. She rests her elbows on the table and holds her face in her palms and observes the objects of their investigation again. Gray sighs and goes back to discreetly looking at them.

"Gray, I have a job. I think we both should be able to handle it."

Gray looks at the person standing in front of him, "I'm not interested, Erza." He tells her in a bored voice.

She raises an eyebrow at him, "You don't even know the job."

"Not this time, Erza." He glances in Juvia's direction.

Erza follows his line of sight and sits next to him as curiosity builds inside her, "So, what is happening here?"

"Didn't you want to go on a job?" Lucy asks without looking at her.

"This seems more interesting at the moment. So, what's happening in between them? This is like some novel."

"I know, right!" Lucy exclaims.

"And the fact that such a scenario is happening in real life makes it even more interesting." Erza says with sparks in her eyes.

Gray looks at her in astonishment. _'Bet you wouldn't be thinking this way if it were Jellal with Juvia.'_ Erza throws him a dirty look like she read his thoughts, he gulps. "Don't you have to leave?"

"Gray, what are you planning on doing to separate them?" Erza ignores his question.

"Separate them? They are not together." He retorts.

"Well, if you don't do anything, Natsu will take the girl from right under your nose."

"She's right, Gray."

"Same goes for you, Lucy." She says it like it is a challenge.

Lucy gulps and tugs on Gray's shirt (which he surprisingly didn't take off yet), "Gray, we need to do something."Happy's words in the in

* * *

 **I apologise for not uploading a new chapter for so long! I was busy with something else and also a bit stuck!**

 **But please read and review! I hope you like it! :-)**

 **BTW, did you guys read last week's chapter? It was fucking crazy! And i think, this week will be even more crazier!**

 **Enjoy! Neepa... :-)**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"Is it necessary to interlock our arms?" Natsu hisses in Juvia's ear when they put some distance in between Gray and Lucy.

"It's just like what Natsu-kun did yesterday. This'll make Lucy-san jealous." She whispers. "Natsu-kun has done so much for Juvia that Juvia decided to return the favour." She continues earnestly.

Natsu is stunned by the seriousness in her blue eyes and nods at her.

They take a seat in front of Levy. The petite bluenette looks at them curiously. Her eyes land on their interlocked arms. Natsu disentangles their arms.

"Are you both going to tell me what's going on?" Levy asks before Natsu says anything. Her eyes sparkle with excitement.

Juvia smiles with embarrassment, "Levy-san, it's nothing. We are just friends."

"Whatever she says. But there are more important things to discuss right now." Natsu declares.

"There are?" Juvia and Levy say together.

Juvia is struck by the seriousness in Natsu's voice. _'Natsu-kun looks so cool when he is all serious.'_

Natsu scratches behind his ear while finding the words to say. "So, Levy…" Natsu briefly explains how they both broke down his house.

Levy looks at them dubiously. "Hmmm… So, why are you telling me this, Natsu?"

"I want you to use your magic and build me a new house." The pink haired wizard expresses his desire rather confidently.

Levy is shocked by the strange request and her left eyebrow twitches, "But Natsu that's not possible. My magic is meant for immediate consumption." She throws a quick glance at a certain Dragon Slayer. "Actually, everyone's magic is like that. We all need to keep refilling on magic to grow."

The three of them hear a 'gi hi hi' from the table next to them.

Natsu frowns at her, "You're sure about this?"

For moment Levy considers the request, "No Natsu. It's not possible to make a house with solid script magic at least." She pauses. "Well, if I did make you a house, I'd have to be there all the time to lend magic to the home to make sure it stays."

Natsu sighs.

"Ummm, maybe Levy-san can give Gajeel-kun some iron and he can give us some nails and nuts and bolts and …"

"No way in hell am I helping Salamander." Gajeel interrupts Juvia.

"No one asked you." Natsu shouts.

"Actually Natsu-kun, we need him. Gajeel-kun, please help us." Juvia tells the dragon slayers.

Gajeel folds his hands on his chest and looks at Juvia, "I don't even know what you are doing with him." He says gruffly. "Did you finally give up on Stripper?"

"Gajeel-kun!"

"I can hear you both talk, Ameonna. So, I know what's happening."

She opens her mouth to say something but stops herself. _'Best way right now is to change the topic.'_ "Please Gajeel-kun, Juvia needs your help."

"Um, Gajeel, I think there's nothing wrong with helping friends out." Levy says in a small voice.

Gajeel looks at the two bluenettes in his life. One, a sister-like friend and the other, his 'shrimp'. _'Gosh, when she looks at me with those eyes, I can hardly say no to her.'_ He frowns and looks away from Levy, "I'll think about it." He turns around and walks away with Lily following him.

' _He is so smitten by her. He should just tell her already.'_ Lily thinks to himself.

"Well, that's as close to a 'yes' you'll get." Levy observes.

"Juvia thinks so too." She smiles cheerfully.

Natsu folds his hands on his chest and sulks, "it's not like I asked for his help." He murmurs.

"But we need it Natsu-kun." Juvia answers him.

"Okay, okay, don't get so serious." Natsu tells her.

"Wish Jura-san was in Magnolia…" Juvia states absent-mindedly.

Natsu looks confused, "Why are you thinking about 'Bald-Man'?"

Levy giggles, "She wishes to use Jura's magic to re-build your house."

"REALLY?! 'Bald-Man' can do that?" He ponders for a second, "that's right! His magic solidifies earth. Let's go get him."

Juvia pulls Natsu back into his seat, "Natsu-kun don't get so excited. Anyways, I think we can do this."

"Yes, we can! I'm all fired up now!" His fists start to burn and Juvia douses them in water almost immediately. "What you do that for?" Natsu asks in disappointed voice.

Juvia just giggles at his antics. Levy watches their interaction closes and concludes, _'there's more to this than meets the eye.'_

"C'mon Natsu-kun, let's go find Laki and ask her for her help." Juvia gets up from her seat.

Natsu nods and gets up as well. He turns back to Levy, "You will help too, Levy?"

Levy, surprised at being included, nods enthusiastically. "Whatever I can do to help, I will."

* * *

Like that, Natsu and Juvia enlist the entire guild to help them. The guild members help after their jobs. Two of them whoS stayed all the time to help were Gray and Lucy. While Lucy is a bit obvious about her intentions, Gray plays nonchalant. His reason for being there, "Well, everyone is helping out so I'm here. It's not like I want to be here, anyway." This statement almost always caused fights in between the ice mage and the fire mage.

Honestly though, Gray is not happy about the building closeness in between Juvia and Natsu. His own reactions surprise him and confuse him. _'Do I have feelings for Juvia?'_ He found himself asking that question a lot ever since the evening Natsu and Juvia showed up at his place. He mostly dismisses it as 'momentary jealousy'. _'What the hell is momentary jealousy? Now I'm just making up stuff to evade the truth.'_

Lucy notices the changes too. The way Natsu and Juvia are very caring towards each other. They are extremely playful around each other and that makes her jealous every day. _'That's how he is with me usually. But now he, hardly, is around me. I don't like this. I don't like this at all. And… and why is Juvia not fawning over Gray like she used to do?'_ Lucy mentally tears her hair every time such thoughts came into her mind, which is very often.

"What's wrong, Lucy? You look like you are constipating or something." Natsu asks with concern.

Lucy goes red as soon as she hears Natsu's voice, "Baka, Natsu!" She punches him and runs away.

"What was that for?" Natsu asks while nursing his cheek. "Where'd she go?"

"What do you think, you moron? She left." Gray answers bitterly.

Natsu scratches the back of his neck awkwardly, "What should I do?"

"You should go after her, Natsu-kun."

"But won't it spoil everything we've done till now?" He whispers in Juvia's ear.

"But if you don't go after her, all this could come back to bite us in the ass." She whispers back.

Gray looks at them dubiously.

"You think we went too far?"

She taps her chin with her index finger, "Slightly."

"Okay. I may have to reveal everything to her." He informs her.

"Maybe, it is time, Natsu-kun."

They nod at each other. Natsu sniffs around to catch her scent. He dashes off into the forest. "Looks like she went deeper into the forest rather than getting out of the forest."

He follows her scent and catches up with her near a small pond.

"Lucy!"

"Go away Natsu! I don't want to see you right now." Her voice breaking.

Natsu stands in front of her and pulls her closer, "Why are you crying?"

She tries to push him, "Let go off me! Aren't you supposed to be with Juvia?"

"That's not the answer to my question."

"I don't have to give you any answers. Go, hang out with Juvia!"

Natsu finds it difficult to hide his smile, "Are you jealous of Juvia?"

"Wha- What makes you think that?"

"You sound like that." He says confidently.

She scoffs forcibly, "Don't flatter yourself, Natsu."

He frowns at her. Lucy, finally, breaks free from his grip. She turns around to leave.

"But I did it all for you!" He blurts it out.

Lucy stops mid-step. "What?"

"You and Gray act so indifferently that Juvia and I came up with a plan to make you both jealous." He confesses. "So, you both would pay attention to our feelings."

Lucy blinks as she lets Natsu's words sink in. _'Natsu is strong and everything but he is one of the most tactless person on Earthland. He and Juvia getting together to make an elaborate plan sounds so farfetched. Like that is possible!'_ "Please Natsu don't lie to me. I see what is happening in front of me. You definitely seem to be interested in Juvia."

"Wha-? Are you deaf? I'm here, telling you that I've feelings for you and you think I have feelings for someone else!" Natsu is at his wit's end.

"And I can tell even Juvia is into you."

"Do you even hear yourself? I'm in love with you." Natsu yells at her.

Lucy's eyes widen in surprise and shock. _'He finally says the words. If only he meant it.'_ "Don't say words stuff you don't mean."

"I mean it. I'm not sure when my feelings for you changed but after I saw 'Future Lucy' die, I just couldn't bear it. I felt unbearable pain. I just knew I didn't want to be apart from you anymore."

Lucy's eyes widen in surprise. _'I knew never knew this. I never even suspected that his feelings changed. But why do I find it hard to believe?'_ "N-Natsu, I need to think about it. Please give me some time."

"Whatever you want." He replies instantly. _'Although, I wish you'd just believe me. Was my acting that believable?'_

"I'm going home."

"I'll take you."

"No, I want to be on my own." Lucy says sternly.

Natsu nods and watches Lucy walk away from him. _'I should find Juvia. She'll know what to do.'_ Though, he is dejected by Lucy's reaction, he walks back quickly, in the hopes of getting some advice.

"What the hell happened here?!" Natsu yells when he goes back to his half constructed house. The entire area is soaked.

Gray looks like he fought a wave of water. "I…I think, I… screwed up." He says in between breaths.

The fire mage sits down next to the ice mage, "I think, I did too."

After some moments of silence, Gray says, "Wanna go to the guild? We'll get some drinks."

* * *

 **I apologise! The problem is when you start something funny, it's tough to continue to keep it funny. I didn't know how to move the story forward. Anyways this was supposed to be a short story, it should be over in a few more chapters!**

 **So please read and tell me what you think. You can even tell me you are angry because of the haitus. I'm truly sorry.**

 **Enjoy. Neepa... :-)**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"But won't it spoil everything we've done till now?" Natsu whispers in Juvia's ear.

"But if you don't go after her, all this could come back to bite us in the ass." She whispers back.

Gray looks at them dubiously.

"You think we went too far?"

She taps her chin with her index finger, "Slightly."

"Okay. I may have to reveal everything to her." He informs her.

"Maybe, it is time, Natsu-kun."

They nod to each other. Natsu sniffs around to catch her scent. He dashes off into the forest. An awkward silence hangs in between Juvia and Gray. Gray goes back to cutting wood.

' _Gray-sama looks so hot. Look at the way Gray-sama's body moves.'_ She sighs.

"So…" Gray tries to sound as nonchalant as possible. "So, Natsu and you seem to be doing pretty good."

When Juvia realized that Gray was trying to make conversation with her, she felt happy. But with every word that came out of Gray's mouth the happiness kept decreasing.

"Is Gray-san just stating something or is Gray-san asking Juvia something?" She snaps at him.

Gray rises an eyebrow at her tone, "What's with the tone?"

"Nothing." She exhales and decides to go back to work to distract herself.

Gray watches her intently. "Are you going to say anything?"

"About what?"

"About you and Natsu?"

"What does Gray-san want to know about Natsu-kun and Juvia?"

"You both are doing well together, are you not?"

"We are." She says curtly. _'It is not entirely false. Natsu-kun and Juvia are doing well as friends.'_

Those two words made Gray angrier than he'd ever been in life, "So, you admit that you both are dating? Then why the hell were you chasing me all over town? What was all that crap about being in love with me? Were you toying with me?"

Juvia thinks about what she wants to say. Each word out of his mouth had stung her. "How dare Gray-sama say something to like that to Juvia! Juvia has never lied about being in love with Gray-sama. But it is Gray-sama's indifference that hurts more than his words. While Lucy-san was all over Natsu-kun to get his attention back, Gray-sama hardly cared." She finds it hard to hold her anger in.

' _Why did I have to kick the hornet's nest?'_ Gray rebukes himself. "Whatever, I'm done." He turns around to walk away. He, suddenly, feels something hit hard on his back and push him at a great speed. He crashed into some of Natsu and Happy's old things. He realizes belatedly that he was hit by one of Juvia's water attacks.

"What…t-the… hell, Juvia!" Gray says while catching his breath.

"Gray-sama better not walk away from Juvia today!" She says angrily. "Gray-sama can't just say what Gray-sama wants to say and then walk away. Maybe, sometimes, Gray-sama needs to listen to what others have to say. Juvia is not saying that Gray-sama has to love Juvia back. But Gray-sama at least needs to make up his mind. Either Gray-sama loves Juvia or not. One day, Gray-sama can't just die for Juvia and the next, be completely indifferent to her. If Juvia means something to Gray-sama then he should say something and let Juvia out of her misery."

"Juvia…." He's ashamed of himself.

Juvia shoots another jet of water from her left hand but this time Gray manages to dodge the attack. "No, Gray-sama! Neither does Gray-sama say anything nor does he let Juvia say anything. Not today. At least have to courage to tell Juvia what Gray-sama wants. If Gray-sama doesn't want Juvia, say it. Although, it'll hurt at first, but Juvia will deal with it. All Juvia wants is for you to say something. Because Juvia is tired of waiting. Juvia has never wanted to be with another person more than Gray-sama."

By this point, big tears spill out from her eyes, but she wipes them quickly, "Juvia has never been more in love with anyone else. Juvia is not sure if there is anything more she can do to make Gray-sama believe in her feelings." She wipes the tears escaping her eyes.

Gray walks up to her. He wants to cup her cheek in his palm but stops himself midway. "Juvia, I… I… I…" Gray stops himself from saying whatever is in his mind.

All the hope in her eyes is replaced by anger, "Arigatou, Gray-sama!" She hit him with successive water attacks. Gray doesn't even try to dodge this time. After taking one last look at him, she runs out of the forest as fast as she can.

"Baka!" Gray hisses. _'I should have just said it. Why is it so difficult to tell her?'_

"What the hell happened here?!" Natsu yells when he goes back to his half constructed house. The entire area is soaked.

Gray looks like he fought a wave of water. "I…I think, I… screwed up." He says in between breaths.

The fire mage sits down next to the ice mage, "I think, I did too."

After some moments of silence, Gray says, "Wanna go to the guild? We'll get some drinks."

* * *

It started drizzling by the time Gray and Natsu make their way to the guild. Everyone looks in shock as Gray and Natsu walk in together and sit at the bar.

"Two beers, Mira." Natsu says.

"I would like something stronger, Mira-chan." Gray sulks. "Doesn't matter what, just something stronger."

Not wanting to be left behind, Natsu says, "Me too."

"Well, you both look down. What's the matter?" Mirajane asks with concern as she places their glasses.

Gray drank it all in one gulp. "One more."

Mirajane and Natsu stare at Gray.

"Not until, you tell me what is going on, Gray." Mirajane asks.

"Yeah, what happened in between you and Juvia?" Natsu asks.

"Just pour me another drink or else there are other bars in this town, you know."

Mirajane gives him a death stare and he gulps in fear. "That'll teach you to threaten me. Natsu, you tell me."

Not wanting to be given such a look, he starts spilling, "Juvia and I have been pretending to be close to annoy Gray and Lucy. To get their attention. It's not like it was not obvious that I've been in love with Lucy for a long time. And Gray has been extra rude to Juvia all this time. So, I guess we needed to do something make them realize what would happen if we stopped paying them attention."

"For some reason Juvia felt that we needed to put it all to an end today. So, I confessed everything to Lucy and while she looked a little relieved, she said she wanted some time to think over it. I don't understand why she is hesitating."

' _Well, I actually meant what happened in between Gray and Juvia but this is interesting too,'_ Mirajane chuckles to herself, "Natsu, don't worry. I think, Lucy is just trying to clear her head. These past few weeks, you and Juvia were pretty convincing that something is brewing in between you both. She's just a little confused. She'll come around."

"You mean it?" Natsu asks hopefully.

She chuckles, "Yes. So, what happened with them?"

He shrugs, "Not sure. When I found him, he was drenched and she had already left." He gestures to his empty glass and Mirajane fills both of their glasses.

"Gray are you going to talk now?" She asks dangerously.

"She said she loves me." He says in a low voice.

"That is nothing new." Natsu says.

"Why on earth did you have to play this sort of trick on me and Lucy? What were you thinking? Messing like that with us." Gray says angrily.

"Well, you shouldn't have ignored her for so long." Natsu states angrily. "I'm surprised she stuck around this long."

"You both, stop it! Arguing with each other will not give you any solutions." Mirajane tells them. "Gray, what exactly happened? I could help you."

"I couldn't say it back." He mumbles.

"I couldn't hear you, Gray. Say it again." Mirajane says gently.

But Natsu heard it. "What the hell is wrong with you, Gray?"

He fists his palms, "I tried. I just couldn't say it back." He strains each word out.

Natsu folds his hands on his chest, "I didn't expect this from you, Gray. The least you could do is tell her something. She deserves to know. More than that she deserves your best, Gray. You are just being cruel to her." After a beat, he adds, "Actually, after getting to know her, I think she deserves better." Natsu downs his drink in one gulp and leaves the guild angrily.

"Gray, why didn't you say anything back?" Mirajane asks gently.

He looked at her with pain in his eyes, "I don't know how to love her. She looks at me and I know, she's in love with me. But I can't be like that. I can't be as open as her with my feelings. I'm not like her."

She smiles kindly at him, "Gray, I'm sure Juvia knows that already. Have you ever thought that maybe she likes you just as you are? All she wants is for you be honest with her about your feelings. It's never good to make someone wait for so long."

Gray looks at her hopefully.

"I'm sure she'll understand if you explain it to her. Now go find her."

"Yes." He gets up from his seat. "You're right, Mira-chan." He leaves the guild.

It is raining now. He zips his jacket. _'Where could she be? My guess would be Fairy hills. There's no other place I think off.'_ I starts walking in the direction of Fairy Hills. _'Wait… What if she went to Gajeel's place? … It's highly unlikely.'_ He continues walking towards Fairy Hills. He stands at the gate and looks at the building. _'Now or never.'_

He walks back a little and produces a large ice pole to pole vault over the wall. Everyone knows there's a barrier spell on the gate. Over the wall in the only way for boys to get in. _'Which is Juvia's room? Tch, I'll have to peep into all the rooms. I know, first floor is Erza's so I can skip it.'_

Gray climbs a tree and jumps on to the ledge of one of the windows on the second floors. He peeps in and sees a lot of stone statues. _'This can't be it. This must be Evergreen's room.'_ He jumps on a couple more ledges and balconies, finally reaches the last room on the third floor. He sees blue curtains. _'This has to be hers.'_ He climbs in as quietly as possible.

His eyes land on Juvia. Juvia crying.

Juvia crying, wrapped in Natsu's embrace.

* * *

 **Please read and review! I like this chapter, but i want to know if you guys like it as well! Thanks for all the support and for waiting patiently (or impatiently) My description of Fairy Hills maybe a little off but please bear with me!**

 **What do you guys think about the Alvarez Empire arc. I think the next few chapters are going to be crazy.**

 **Enjoy! Neepa :-)**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"Tch, I can't believe Gray did that! He's such a fool. Why on earth would he do something like that!" Natsu mutters to himself while on his way home. It is raining but not heavily. He stops mid-step, realizing that his home is still destroyed and he didn't feel like going back to Gray's home yet.

"Maybe, I should check on Juvia." He mutters to himself. _'It's not really my place to check on her. Is it?'_

' _Hey, I'm her friend. And friends look out for each other.'_ After convincing himself, he turns around and walks towards Fairy Hills. He quickly and quietly jumps over the wall and sniffs around. _'Thank God! Erza and Laki are not here.'_ As soon as he spots Juvia's scent, he climbs up the building to get to her room. He jumps in quietly through the balcony and walks in the room. He, first, hears soft sobs and then finds her crying on her pillow. Natsu is angry and sad at the same time.

"Hey Juvia." Natsu says gently when he gets close.

Juvia eyes open wide and turns around in shock. "Natsu-kun?" She wipes her tears with the back of her hands, quickly. "What is Natsu-kun doing here? Isn't Natsu-kun supposed to be Lucy-san?" The rain turns into a drizzle again.

He scratches his cheek awkwardly, "We'll get to that later. I came to check on you."

"Natsu-kun, what happened?" She asks sternly.

' _Maybe, it'll help distract her,'_ he thinks. "Well, I caught up with her soon. I confessed that we'd planned out everything and that there was absolutely nothing happening in between me and you. But she said she wanted to think things over."

"Think things over? What's there to think over? Either she wants to be with Natsu-kun or not!" _'This is exactly what Gray-sama is doing to Juvia! Not giving Natsu-kun a clear answer. I never thought Lucy-san would behave this way.'_

"Mira says she'll come around soon. She's just confused."

"Juvia doesn't get it. Juvia is angry with Lucy-san. Natsu-kun, let's go talk to her!" _'I just want to forget the argument… or was it a fight… or a heated discussion… or the experience or whatever it is that happened with Gray-sama. I want to forget it.'_ She gets up from her bed and turns to walk towards the door.

He blocks her way. "NO! I came here to check on you." He pauses for a moment and says the next words cautiously, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Her eyes fill up slightly, "How did Natsu-kun know that Juvia was here?"

"Well, after Lucy left, I went back and I found Gray alone. We went to the guild and he told me and Mira what happened. I figured you'd be here."

"Thank you, Natsu-kun. But you don't have to worry about me. I'm fine."

He pats her head gently, "You don't look fine to me."

At this Juvia starts crying. "I tried, Natsu-kun. I really tried. But it just keeps getting harder and harder." She hugs him.

Natsu is shocked by the sudden body contact. _'She needs a hug.'_ He hugs her back. "You'll be fine. I know, Gray has feeling for you."

"Now, Juvia is beginning to doubt that."

He pulls back a little, "You shouldn't give up now, when you've gone all in." Then pulls her in again.

"Natsu-kun, do you think we shouldn't have ever done all of this? It has not worked for us so maybe it was not the right approach for us." Juvia speaks to his chest.

He thinks about this. "I don't think, it was all bad."

"Why?" She whispers in shock.

"Well, I got to know that Lucy does really care about me. I found a friend in you. It wasn't all that bad."

"Natsu-kun could say that. Juvia is happy that Juvia has Natsu-kun as a friend. Although, Juvia wishes Gray-sama had come around as well." Fat tears spill from her eyes. "Juvia loves Gray-sama deeply but somehow she cannot get it through to him. No matter what Juvia tries, Juvia only keeps pushing him away."

Natsu holds her as she cries. He knows there is nothing he can do but be there for her. But not being able to do something is incredibly frustrating for Natsu.

' _Is Gray nearby?'_ He sniffs again. _'He is here. I wonder, what he is here for. Maybe he is here to resolve everything with Juvia. Oh, he better be here for that reason only. Should I tell Juvia though? No, what if he doesn't come up to see her then she'll be crushed again. I'll wait.'_

' _What's taking him so long!'_ Natsu thinks.

Finally Natsu sees a head of black hair at a window and then slowly Gray climbing in.

Gray finds Juvia crying in Natsu's arms. Anger flairs up as soon as he sees his best frenemy hugging Juvia. But then he looks at Juvia's shaking back and realizes why he is in this situation, in the first place.

Natsu and Gray look at each other intensely.

"I love her." Gray whispers. He knows Natsu will hear him.

He nods at Gray slowly. Natsu realizes that Gray is here to make things right and gestures for him to come close.

Gray walks closer to them as quietly as possible. When he is next to them, Natsu slowly pulls back from Juvia and turns her towards Gray. Gray holds her instinctively.

When she is held by the new set of arms, she knows who it is, "Gr- Gr- Gray-sama…?" She pulls back to take a look at him.

"I'm here now. I'm sorry." And he pulls her in.

"I'm going to go now." Natsu whispers.

"Thank you, Natsu-kun." He hears Juvia's voice as he is about to go out from the balcony.

He looks back and his eyes meet Gray's again, they nod at each other and he leaves. He jumps and lands perfectly on the grass. All of a sudden, Natsu feels good. He is happy but he can't explain why. He starts running towards the person he wants to be with the most. He reaches the house by the canal and climbs in through a window to find the girl he is in love with.

He finds Lucy on the bed.

"Natsu, what are you doing here?" She asks him. "I thought, I told you, I wanted to think over it."

Natsu takes in her scent and gets into bed next to her. Lucy watches him patiently but doesn't stop him. He wraps a hand around her waist gently.

"I know what you said. But I just didn't want to be away from you."

"Okay."

"I realized, I never really told you how I feel about you, before today."

"That's true."

"And it's probably not how you wanted to be told?"

"Yes."

He pouts and thinks over his words, "I just… I mean… you and I, we are always together and I sort of assumed that you'd know how I felt about you. I thought, I didn't have to say anything to you. I thought, it was understood."

"Hmmm…" Lucy ponders on his words.

"It's true, though. I've been in love with you since… for a long time. I don't even remember when my feelings began to change. But when I saw the future you die, it hurt a lot. I knew, I didn't want to be away from you anymore."

' _He said all of these words before. But right now, the honesty and sincerity in his voice makes it more believable.'_ Lucy tells herself.

"Natsu…"

"Juvia and I are nothing but friends. Over the past few weeks, we've really bonded but there is nothing more than friendship there."

"I believe you." Lucy says with a smile. "A part of me always knew there is nothing happening in between you and Juvia but I couldn't stop myself from doubting you." She giggles in embarrassment.

Natsu smirks at her, "So, you were really jealous. Like a lot."

"Do you want to spoil the mood, you set?" Her voice has an edge.

"No, no, no! I'm sorry." He says in a panic. She laughs at his antics and he relaxes. His cheeks go red and he says, "I love you, Lucy."

Her eyes widen for a moment and then she smiles gently at him, "I love you too, Natsu."

Natsu closes the distance in between them and kisses her. "I'll never let you go."

She chuckles, "I'll never let go off you either." She kisses him.

They spend the rest of the evening kissing each other.

* * *

 **What do you guys think? Please review!**

 **Someone complained that Lucy is not given much importance and that I'm misleading Nalu fans. That was an honest mistake, I'm sorry. But i don't want to remove her from the character list though. She is vital to Natsu.**

 **In the latest chapter of the manga - Acnologia came back! some interesting things are going to happen!**

 **Enjoy! Neepa :)**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Moments go by in silence, Juvia is still in Gray's arms. They don't know what to say to each other.

' _This is strange but good.'_ Gray thinks.

' _Juvia has been waiting so long for this. It's finally happening.'_ Juvia rejoices. _'But what exactly is happening? Gray-sama is not saying anything. This is just like every time. Is Gray-sama toying with Juvia again?'_ Suddenly, Juvia begins to feel uncertain about the situation.

She pulls away quickly and puts some distance in between them. Gray is confused by the sudden loss of warmth.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"What exactly is Gray-sama trying to do?" She questions him.

"I want to make things right."

"Make things right by not saying anything again? Make things right by leading me on? Gray-sama, I can't do this anymore. It's come to a point where… I don't know where this is going." Tears drop down her face.

Gray cringes at her tone. But it hurts him to see her in pain. He takes her hands and leads her to the bed. He makes her sit down and he kneels in front of her and takes her hands in his.

"I'm really sorry. I don't want to see you cry." He wipes her tears. "This is not easy for me but I want you to know now."

"What does Gray-sama want Juvia to know?" Juvia asks, perplexed. _'Gray-sama is finally going to say it!'_

"I lost my parents and Ur when I was very young, you know that." He pauses and she nods. "I love my parents but I lost them. And just when I was finally beginning to trust and open up to Ur, I lost her too. So, I somehow felt that I'm always going to lose the people who are close to me."

Juvia is about to wrap her arms around Gray. Gray stops her. "Lemme finish." Juvia understands.

"When I came to Fairy Tail, At first, it was just me and Cana and sometimes even Laxus then later others came to the guild. I found a new family and it made me happy. I just wanted to get stronger to be able to protect Fairy Tail. Sometime after I came here, Erza joined. I have had the biggest crush on her since I saw her crying by the river when we were little. She is so strong and fragile at the same time. I know she doesn't see me that way but she is someone special to me." He chuckles as he remembers.

' _This is not what Juvia was expecting to hear. Don't tell Juvia that Erza-san has been Juvia's love rival all this time instead of Lucy-san. No, no, no, no, no, no, no….no!'_ Juvia is lost in her thoughts.

She puts a hand on his mouth, confusing Gray, "Gray-sama, is this the part where Gray-sama tells Juvia that he is actually in love with Erza-san and not with Juvia? If that's the case then Juvia doesn't want to hear anymore. I understand." Juvia steels herself.

"What? What are you going on about? Didn't tell you to let me finish?" Gray asks exasperatedly. _'Man, this is tougher than I thought and I haven't even gotten to the tough part yet!'_

"When I first met you, I didn't really notice you that much because at that time you were my enemy. And also because you gave out a really gloomy aura. But then you help us save Erza from Jellal and I realised that you are a very brave person and that you are really serious about joining Fairy Tail." He smiles and brushes his knuckles against her cheek.

"Lucy told me how you fought though you were possessed by some weird hair guy. After joining Fairy Tail, I noticed the changes in you. You were not gloomy, you got along with everyone just fine and you treat everyone with respect. You fit here."

Juvia blushes at Gray's statement.

"Cana told me what you did during the Harvest festival. You injured yourself so Cana could go on fight Fried. All this that you do when you are fighting the enemy are the things that impress me, not baking 'Gray buns' although I must admit they are good." His cheeks go slightly red and he scratches the back on his neck awkwardly. Juvia chuckles.

"That being said, I don't want you to injure yourself every time you are in a fight." He looks to the side awkwardly, "I get worried when you pull stunts like that." He mutters to himself.

"What was that?" She asks.

"Nothing." He continues, "When you blatantly state that you are in love with me and do all the things you do to show it, I get really overwhelmed. I don't understand how I can be so important to you when we have not even had that kind of interaction."

He looks at her, "Slowly but surely, I started liking having you around. I get crazy jealous when I see you with other guys." Gray stops, realising what he just admitted. "I was not supposed to tell you this. Forget I mentioned that."

"Juvia is never going to forget this." She smirks at him.

He sighs, "When Acnologia attacked us, I wanted to get you to safety so bad. That was the first time, I thought, I could lose you. And I didn't want that."

"Juvia felt the same but Juvia couldn't do anything at that time." Juvia says with downcast eyes.

"None of us could." He placed a hand on her cheek, "So, now that I'm here I want you to know that I don't want to lose you and that I want to be with you as well." He kisses her cheek.

Juvia's face turns red. "Did Gray-sama just say that he wants to be with Juvia?"

He chuckles.

"Juvia is in love with Gray-sama." She says shyly.

Gray's eyes widen at the emotion in her voice. _'This is the tough part, Gray! The moment you say it, it'll all become real, more real than ever.'_

"Juvia, I… I… I-"

"Gray-sama, it's fine. Gray-sama doesn't have to say it just because Juvia has said it. Juvia can wait until Gray-sama is ready."

He sighs in relief, "Juvia, I'm sorry. I want to say it. Gimme a little while more." He places a kiss on her forehead, then on the tip of her nose. That action makes her crinkle her nose. She closes her eyes and waits for the next kiss. Gray pulls back a little and chuckles at her eagerness.

She pouts though her eyes are still closed, "What's funny, Gray-sama?"

"Nothing." And he kisses her. He wraps his arms around her closer to him. She loses her balance on the bed and they both fall on the floor. They look at each other and laugh.

They both get up and lie down on the bed and continue talking, occasionally stealing kisses from each other. Eventually, they fall asleep in each other's embrace.

* * *

Gray wakes up in the middle on the night. _'Where am I? This isn't my room.'_ He finds Juvia in his arms. _'Right, we were talking.'_ He smiles thinking about their conversation. "Hey Juvia, I'm in love with you too." He whispers in her ear.

She smiles in her sleep and he kisses her head. "Don't you dare, die on me! I'll protect you no matter what." He places a soft kiss on her temple. He goes back to sleep, blissfully.

* * *

 **Next day in the guild.**

Natsu and Lucy walk in together, hand in hand. The rest of the guild members stare at them and whisper amongst themselves.

"Hey Natsu, shouldn't you be with Juvia?" Macao asks.

"Are you already cheating on Juvia?" Wakaba adds.

"No." Then Natsu explains and everybody listens.

"Can't believe that brat managed to pull off something like that!" Makarov grumbles.

"Master, you should never under estimate the power of love." Mirajane tells him with a bright smile.

"You knew all along, didn't you?"

She nods enthusiastically.

"Natsu, how could you?" Happy asks him accusingly. "I'm your best friend and you still didn't tell me!"

"Happy, you would have told everybody." Natsu points out.

"Aye, that is true!" He jumps cheerfully at Natsu. "I'm happy for you, Natsu! Now, I have to get Carla and then we'll go on a double date and have lots of fish!" Happy declares cheerfully.

"Not happening." Lucy and Carla say at the same time and shake their heads.

"It's not a bad idea!" Natsu tries. But one look from Lucy shuts him up.

Gray walks in amidst the commotion.

"Oye Gray! How did it go?" Natsu calls out to him.

He looks at him with disinterest, "I don't discussion personal matters with you."

"GRAY…" he starts to shout but stops, "fine, I'll just ask Juvia about it."

"Don't go near her, Natsu!" Gray warns him in cold voice.

"Gray-sama…" He turns to look at her and she smiles brightly at him, "Good morning!"

"G-Good morning." He turns around and takes a seat at the bar.

Juvia is disappointed by his reaction, _'Maybe, he needs time. Yup, that's it.'_ She spots Natsu, Lucy and Happy at a table and joins them.

"Looks like things worked out for you, Natsu-kun."

"Yes. Juvia, thanks for helping him." Lucy tells her happily.

"Yes. But what happened with him?" He directs his chin towards Gray,

"Juvia is not sure. Everything was fine until he left my room in the morning."

"Don't tell me, you both did it?" Lucy asks curiously.

Juvia goes red. "No. Gray-sama and Juvia talked and kissed. It was nice. But Juvia doesn't know what happened after he went home."

"Maybe, he didn't enjoy kissing you?" Natsu suggests.

Both Lucy and Juvia throw dark gazes at him.

"Maybe, he got cold feet?" Lucy guesses.

"NO, I didn't get cold feet." Gray takes a sit next to Juvia. "I just…" He hesitates to say it in front of Natsu and Lucy. "I didn't know how to treat in front of everybody. I'm sorry. I will be better from now on." He whispers in Juvia's ear.

Juvia nods in understanding. She cups one of his cheeks in her palm, "It's okay."

Gray is about to kiss Juvia when Natsu exclaims, "Well, I'm glad it all worked out."

"Yes." Juvia nods happily.

"Since this worked out for us, I was thinking we should help others as well!" Natsu gets excited.

"Yes, Juvia and Natsu-kun should help Gajeel-kun and Levy-san, Erza-san and Jellal-san, Evergreen-san and Elfman-san and everyone who needs help!" Juvia says happily.

"I'm all fi-" Natsu starts to say but Lucy pulls him by his scarf.

"That's not happening, Natsu!"

"I agree with Lucy. Don't go interfering in everyone's lives. They'll find their own way. Juvia, don't do anything."

"But Gray-sama, it was so much fun when Natsu-kun and Juvia were helping each other."

"Yes and Mira is totally right about this jealousy shit! It totally works!"

The four of them keep arguing for the rest of the day.

* * *

 **This is it for this story! I hope you guys liked it though i feel i messed up a little!**

 **Tell me what you guys think! It's ok, if you hate the story but let me know. I have always felt that a story should garner a response whether it is good or bad is a totally different thing. it is worse when there is no reaction!**

 **i was able to finish because you all encouraged me so a BIG BIG BIG THANK YOU to everybody who gave this story their time! I appreciate it! I hope I can continue to entertain people in this big world of fanfiction!**

 **Enjoy! Lots of Love, Neepa... :-)**

 **P. S. - I LOVE FAIRY TAIL! I so wish I could be in Fairy Tail!**


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